


We Aren't The Same

by asheijiluvbot



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Skating, This episode hurt, based on episode 7 of sk8, fluffy bits ig???, i love renga, im sorry, reki and langa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asheijiluvbot/pseuds/asheijiluvbot
Summary: Excited? I don't get excited! I’m scared. how can you be acting like its all fun and stuff? You and Adam are nothing like me. Nothing like me. Do whatever you like. You crazy geniuses can skate with each other all you want. I cant keep up. You and I Aren't... a good match anymore.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 6
Kudos: 145





	We Aren't The Same

**Author's Note:**

> i refuse to acknowledge episode 7 in any context other than this

"Excited? I don't get excited! I’m scared. how can you be acting like its all fun and stuff? You and Adam are nothing like me. Nothing like me. Do whatever you like. You crazy geniuses can skate with each other all you want. I cant keep up. You and I aren't. . . a good match anymore."

Reki's words rung through Langa's mind as he stood there in the pouring rain, he was crying though the tears streaming down the sides of his face were hardly visible in the harsh weather. He sniffled several times as he stood staring into nothing, Reki had been previously standing in that nothing. Langa knew he was likely going to catch a cold standing in the cold and wet with no coat on to protect him but he didn't care, he couldn't. The only thing his brain could focus on was Reki and the hurt in his voice as he had said those final words.

_I can't keep up._

_You and I aren't... a good match anymore._

Langa's eyebrows furrowed as he continued staring into nothingness, the tears still silently streaming down his cheeks. How did this happen? How did it come to this? He thought he and Reki were the unbreakable duo, supporting each other in everything... why did Reki not want to support him in this?

Meanwhile Reki walked inside of his house, slipping off his shoes and walking past his mother with his hair dripping wet. His head was hung low and his headband had long since been discarded. His own words echoed in his mind as did the image of Langa's broken expression.

_I can't keep up._

Reki stood in his bedroom and shut his door quietly, he paused for a moment before dropping his skateboard and backpack and completely crumbling. He slid his down his door, his wet t shirt riding up slightly at the friction. His knees were pulled up to his chest and he gripped his head in his hands. He was pulling at his still dripping hair, feeling the small specs of water fall onto his skin. He cried, hard, but it wasn't the kind of cry that left a person screaming and shouting, no, it was a silent cry, the most painful.

It was the type of cry that hardly made a sound, the type of cry that left a persons lips trembling, the type of cry that had forced a hand over a mouth in order to maintain the silence. It was the most painful type of cry. 

Reki continued pulling at the strands on his head, occasionally biting his lip to make sure that everything that had happened was real and that it wasn't just some horrible nightmare that he had accidentally fallen into whilst in class. His cheeks were completely soaked and this time not from the rainwater, his throat was parched and his eyes were becoming sore, his lower back was aching from being in the same position for so long though he didn't care, he was hurting too much. Reki closed his eyes and when he opened them he found himself looking at his room sideways, he was going to sit back up but he truly could not find the strength to do so, he felt so broken. His eyes were sore to the point where he could hardly keep them open and found himself falling asleep unknowingly. His sleep was dreamless and his last chance at escape from this new reality, one without Langa.

Langa, on the other hand, had not slept a wink. He laid in his bed the entire night, occasionally he would let a few tears slip as Reki's words became louder and louder in his head. At some points it became unbearable and he had the urge to scream but resisted it due to his mother being in the next room along. 

_You and I aren't... a good match anymore._

Langa pulled his hands down his face in a harsh attempt to clean the tears he had let slip. He coughed to clear his throat and rolled onto his side to stare out of the window. The sun was starting to rise, he would have to start getting ready for school soon and so would Reki.

Reki was sound asleep, still against the door when a soft knocking woke him up "Reki.. you need to get up for school" his mother spoke in a soft voice. Reki groaned and put a hand to his head as he felt a sudden pounding. He knocked back on the door to let her know that he was awake "I'll be out soon, mum"

Reki heard his mother's footsteps fade and he slowly pushed himself up from the ground with a hand still against his head in an attempt to sooth the throbbing. His eyes squinted at the light outside before stepping over to his wardrobe and getting his new set of clothes out. He then dragged himself over to his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror on the wall. He had bags under his now dull eyes and his hair was dried onto his face in certain places, to put it simply, he looked a mess. 

He continued to study himself before he faced down to the sink with his hands on either side propping him up. He could feel the tears in his eyes start to well again as he thought about the events of the night before. He inhaled a deep but shaky breathe as he lost the motivation to shower. 

_Its only one day, I'll just put on some deodorant and brush my teeth. Yeah, that'll be fine._

He did as he said he would and completely blanked until he found himself becoming frustrated with the zip on his trousers. He huffed and gave up as tears formed back into his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and took another deep breath.

_Come on Reki, It's just a zip, don't let it get the best of you._

He slowly zipped up his trousers and went to grab his skateboard, though, before he could grab it he paused. His hand was still outstretched as he studied the plank of wood in front of him. Slowly, he made a loose fist and dropped his hand back to his side. He blinked at himself and his actions before shaking his head and walking out of his bedroom. 

Langa was extremely sluggish whilst getting ready this morning, he took longer in the shower, took longer brushing his teeth, he even took longer eating his breakfast. He was dreading having to go to school and seeing Reki, he had no idea about how their meeting would turn out.

Reki sighed as he walked in the direction of his and Langa's meeting spot before stopping and making a left turn, he could still get to school this was though it would add on and extra three minutes which wasn't too bad. He tried to keep his mind as blank as possible but it proved difficult as he neared the school gates and saw Langa talking with some guy from the football team. Reki kept his head low and his hands stuffed in his pockets, he wanted to minimise any attention that might be put on him.

"Reki!" 

Langa had called after Reki but Reki had just kept walking which earned a couple of odd glances from his classmates, almost everyone knew those two never left each other's sides. When Langa arrived and Reki's side, Reki kept his head low as Langa walked beside him. 

"Please leave me alone, Langa" Reki said quietly, though Langa heard him loud and clear. Langa paused in his track as Reki kept walking towards their classroom. Once again Langa was left staring at the empty space in front of him. He had hoped to apologise to Reki but it seemed neither was ready for that conversation. Langa slowly walked to his class so he could respect Reki's request and keep a safe distance from the boy he so desperately wanted to hug and spew 'I'm sorry's' to.

Reki and Langa still had to sit next to each other in class but this didn't seem to be a problem for Reki who was completely zoned out the entire day and payed to mind to anyone at all. 

Langa could see that Reki wasn't doing well and knew it was down to their argument the previous night, he desperately wanted to talk to him but he knew that he should respect Reki's boundaries. 

That night Langa needed to take his mind off of things so he decided to go to S to practice, if there was one thing that could distract him it was skating. 

Langa rolled up and down the slopes, bringing himself up to do flops every time he reached the platform. There was always a crowd around him making some sort of notes on what he was doing and how high he could reach put still he paid no mind to any of them as he skated away his feelings. Having people around him was god practice anyway, he knew everyone would be there to watch his rematch against Adam and he wasn't going to let bystanders hinder his chances of winning. Langa wanted to prove to Reki that he was worrying for no reason and that could be beat Adam just as he would have before if their race wasn't stopped by the police.

Reki, meanwhile, was at home in his bed. He hadn't had the energy to move since he got home, he hadn't even changed out of his uniform before he got into the safe comfort of his bed, he knew it was unhygienic but he couldn't help himself, he just felt so drained. He stared up at the ceiling mindlessly, there wasn't a single thought in his head in that moment and he couldn't have been more grateful, the entire day had been spent thinking about the previous night and he was so tired of tormenting himself. Langa needed to know how he felt and if that was the way it had to happen then so be it.

\-- 

The weeks flew by and nothing hand progressed between the two. Reki appeared to be worse by the day to anyone paying attention. He was having trouble keeping up with simple chores such as showering daily and brushing his teeth, he was behind on his school work, he slept a lot but sometimes not at all. He had no energy to do anything anymore and there was nothing he could do about. 

Langa, on the other hand had been training relentlessly, he had already completed four races and his next one was his biggest, it was his race against Adam. He found his muscles to be sore quite often and some nights he would barely sleep whilst thinking of different manoeuvre's to get around Adam and his stupid Love Hug. He had six.

He was seen at S almost every night practicing but also at the skatepark where Reki had first taught him how to skate, where he had completed his first ollie and learned how to tic tac. Though he had been there everyday he hadn't seen Reki even once. 

_Had he given up skating? No he'd been skating for ages there's no way he would. But I haven't even caught a glimpse of him and his board at school nor on the way to and from... it's a possibility._

Langa was currently at S, it was his last night to train before his race against Adam. He was pushing himself further tonight, he wanted to reach his highest point tonight so he knew exactly how far he was able to go tomorrow. From down below Miya, Shadow, Cherry and Joe watched Langa go up and down and perform several tricks. 

"He's been here almost every night for the last five weeks" Cherry said with his arms folded over his chest. He continued to watch Langa skate, eyes widening slightly has he saw how much height he got.

"He's got his race against Adam tomorrow who can blame him" Shadow said from beside Miya who stood between himself and Cherry. 

Joe let out a sigh "you know, I'm surprised Reki hasn't been here to keep him guided. You know he was always the best one to help Langa train, Reki knows Langa like the back of his hand"

"Wait, Joe, do you not know?" Miya said, this caused all three adults to take their eyes from Langa and face him.

"Know what?" Joe asked

"Reki and Langa got into a fight a few weeks back, they haven't spoken since" Miya explained as he looked at the three adults next to him. 

"Are you serious?" Joe asked

"Well duh" Miya snarked back

"I can't say that's good, at all" Cherry began "just from watching them you can tell they kept each other grounded, without Reki here who knows what Langa will push himself to do tomorrow"

The other three nodded in agreement and Langa did yet another flip in mid-air.

Reki was silently laying in his bed as he did every other day when he got the notification on his phone from Miya.

"Snow and Adam, tomorrow, midnight"

Reki stared at the text, he didn't have to energy to reply so he simply left it. He and Langa weren't friends, hell, they hadn't said a word to each other in weeks. What Langa did was no longer his problem.

\--

Another sleepless night left Reki tired as he walked into school, his whole day was spent trying to push his worried thoughts out of his head.

_Langa will be fine, he's Langa. It's also not your problem._

Reki then dragged himself back home as he did everyday and threw himself straight into bed, he wanted to take a nap and not wake up for at least a week. However his brain had different ideas, instead of allowing him a peaceful few hours of sleep, he was given a few hours of overthinking and finally he snapped.

"Ugh fine! Just shut up stupid brain."

Reki changed out of his wrinkled school clothes and into his usual skating attire before grabbing his board and running out of his house. He had exactly 40 minutes before Langa's race started, he could make it f he skated fast enough and took a few shortcuts. He gathered as much speed as he could without losing his balance, slid down multiple railings and almost got hit by at least two cars but he managed to make it.

Reki skated through the front gates and went as fast as he could up to the starting line.

"LANGA! LANGA!"

Both Langa and Adam stopped what they were doing and stood straight as they heard Reki's calls.

"Reki?" Langa said to himself quietly.

"Langa!"

Reki flicked his board up, caught it and ran the last few steps to Langa.

The two stood inches from each other "Langa please don't do this" Reki said quietly.

Looking at him from up close Langa could see how bad Reki looked compared to the last time they spoke. To put it in simple words, he was a mess. 

"Reki, I have to" Langa said as he looked down.

Reki dropped his board and grabbed Langa's face in his hands, the action causing Langa to blush slightly "No, no you don't Langa... please don't"

Reki basically whispered the last part as he looked into Langa's eyes with a pleading gaze. Langa then brought his face forward and placed his forehead on Reki's which had his usual headband around it.

"No, Reki I have to... he threatened you" Langa whispered back. Reki's eyes widened at Langa's words "m-me?"

Langa nodded against Reki's head "he said if I don't race him, he comes after you and not just you but my mum as well. He has the power and influence to do whatever he wants Reki I have to race him"

Langa had tears welling up in his eyes as Reki pulled away and continued to cup his face "Okay, I understand"

Reki could see the burning fire behind Langa's beautiful blue eyes and knew there was no stopping him. Langa was terrified that something was going to happen to Reki and his mum and he just couldn't let that happen. If that meant racing with Adam then so be it.

Langa went back to the starting line and got ready to set foot on his board.

_It's now or never, Reki_

Suddenly Reki was in front of Langa and even more suddenly, their lips connected. Over the last few weeks Reki had been mulling over his feelings for Langa whenever the thoughts happened to come about and he came to the conclusion that if he and Langa were to ever make up that he would want them to be more than friends and he prayed Langa felt the same way.

When Langa felt Reki's lips on his own it was as if all of his nerves had left his body, he felt like he was floating, the feeling was amazing. Reki then pulled away looked into Langa's eyes that were looking straight back into his own.

"You've got this"

Langa nodded and gave Reki a peck on the lips before setting his foot in his board, the countdown began and then Adam and Langa were off. They were an even match even more so now that Langa had been training for quite a while, however, this didn't mean that Adam hadn't also been training. He had cameras all over S he could see what Langa could do and had every one of his moves on tape, he had thought of ways to counter every one. This is what made their race so tense.

The went round bends, bounced off of the small cliffs that lined the race track, it was adrenaline inducing to watch.

Langa then decided it was time to pull out his special move, he was going to completely fly over Adam once again. It was a risky move but one he had to take as Adam cae barrelling towards him.

_3.. 2.. 1.. JUMP_

As fast as he was up in the air he found himself back on the ground.

Adam had anticipated his move though the sudden change in height caught him off guard completely which meant he had to do a slight ollie in order to reach his target who was directly above his head.

Langa was flat on his back gripping himself in pain. Reki was already halfway to him.

"Thank you for the race, snow. You've granted your mother and now boyfriend freedom, for now at least" Adam let out a loud taunting chuckle before kicking off on his baord and skating off.

Reki was suddenly by Langa's side holding him as Langa's face contorted in pain. He had tears threatening to spill but refused to let them fall, he wanted to be strong for Reki.

"It's okay Langa I'm here" Reki said as he began soothing Langa's back with an ice pack one of the skaters had given him. Reki had Langa propped up in one hand and was rubbing soothing circles with the other. Langa leaned into Reki's chest as he did this action and he let a tear slip down his face "I thought I could win Reki" he mumbled. Reki was quiet for a moment before responding "it's okay, you can't win all the time. You've got to remember that you're not always going to be the best you _crazy genius_ "

Langa smiled slightly before leaning away from Reki and looking him in the eye " _You're always going to be a good match for me Reki,_ no matter what"


End file.
